The Way We Work

05/03/2007

Australians are working some of the longest hours in the world, but at what cost? Are we working too hard, at the expense of our health, our families and personal happiness? Are we working smart and productively as a nation or do we need to re-assess our work practices? Are we all getting a fair go in the workplace? Have women achieved equality in the workplace? And how do we solve the issues of an ageing workforce, skills shortages and two-working-parent families coping with kids?

Working to live or living to work?

Have we got our work/life balance tipped precariously toward working ourselves to death? The bulk of the workforce still put in an average 35 –40 hour week, but the number of people working more than 50 hours a week has risen significantly over the last 20 years. That’s beginning to decline but in a Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission report to be released later this week, people continue to complain they’re feeling over stressed and constantly squeezed for time.
So if we’re not all actually working more hours, why do we feel like we are?
And what does it mean for family, relationships, household chores, leisure and community? Are men and women experiencing the same time squeeze pressures?
Do long hours increase the nation’s productivity and our satisfaction with life, or are they counter-productive to both?

How can we bring the balance back toward 'life', and create a better workplace?

Can we change workplace culture? Do we need to change the long-hours culture and if so how can we re-structure our jobs to make it happen? Can workplaces become more flexible while still maintaining productivity? What are the options for childcare? Do we need a major attitude shift from men, both in the workplace and at home, to create a fairer workplace for women? Does achieving a happier work/life balance mean learning to live with less?

What are the big challenges facing our future workforce and the way we work?

Are we really prepared and up to the task of dealing with them? On the back of the resources boom, the economy’s healthy, and overall unemployment figures are low, but we have some major challenges to overcome in the coming decades. The ageing population has given rise to concerns that big gaps will soon be appearing in the workforce, which we’ll struggle to fill, even if baby boomers continue to retire later in life. How do we make sure that we have the best strategies in place to make the most of the available workforce? Are we investing enough in education and training?

Panellists

Ross Gittins: Ross Gittins is Economics Editor of the Sydney Morning Herald and an economic columnist for The Age. Before joining the SMH, Ross worked as an auditor with the national chartered accounting firm, Touche Ross & Co. In 1993 he won the Citibank Pan Asia award for excellence in financial journalism. Ross has been a Nuffield press fellow at Wolfson College, Cambridge, and a journalist-in-residence at the Department of Economics at the University of Melbourne. Ross is frequently called upon to comment on the economic issues of the day and has written and contributed to various books and periodicals. His most recent book was Gittins' Guide to Economics (A&U2006).

Barbara Pocock: Barbara Pocock is the Director of the Centre for Work + Life, at the University of South Australia. Barbara has been researching work, employment and industrial relations now for twenty-five years. She has worked in many jobs – advising politicians, on farms, in unions, for governments and as a mother. Her main areas of study have been work, employment relations, unions, inequality and vocational education. She was initially trained as an economist. Her latest book, published in October 2006, is The Labour Market Ate my Babies: Work,Children and a Sustainable Future. Her previous books include: The Work/Life Collision (2003) Strife; Sex and Politics in Labour Unions (1997) and Demanding Skill: Women and Technical Education in Australia

Peter Hendy: Peter Hendy is the Chief Executive of the Australian Chamber of Commerce. He has served in public administration and policy development at Federal and State levels, for both Liberal and Labor Governments. He was Chief of Staff to the Minister for Defence and Chief of Staff to the Ministers for Workplace Relations and Education. He has also been a senior economic consultant in the private sector where he worked on a range of economic and strategic policy issues.

Wendy McCarthy AO: Wendy McCarthy has been a teacher, educator, change agent and public advocate in Australian life. She has worked with government, corporations and community based organisations in education, health, media, conservation and heritage, women’s affairs, public health and waste management. She has held national leadership roles in all of these areas. She is currently Vice-Chair of Plan International and Chair of McGrath Estate Agents. Her corporate advisory practice specialises in providing mentors to both major corporations and the public sector and assisting these organisations with issues around diversity, leadership and work life balance.

Cartoons

This week's gallery from our in-house cartoonist Warren Brown, who produced these cartoons during the course of the program.